Water is precious. 77 per cent of the earth’s surface is water, but only 2.5 per cent is fresh water, 1 per cent of which is easily accessible. It becomes a more and more pressing topic for politicians, economists as well as environmentalists. For three years, California has been suffering from a drought and at the beginning of this year the governor declared a “state of emergency”, requiring a 25% reduction in the overall water consumption. In 2000, Bolivia suffered under ‘la guerra del agua’, the water war, to nationalise water that was just privatised beforehand. In Spain, half a million illegal wells irrigate the strawberry farming that supplies half of Europe, and while Israel is a green heaven in the desert and a pioneer of technologies for desalination plants, 95 per cent of the water sources are contaminated in the Gaza strip. There are many more heart-breaking examples, and all of them point to the same urgency: something needs to be done. Next to population growth, increased water pollution and increasing living standards, climate change is a crucial reason for the worldwide scarcity of water. People start not only to realise, but to feel its consequences. The new sustainable development goals, published in September 2015, have as their 6th goal to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. But what does this mean for the average Western citizen who does not have the means to change the earth’s orbit? Living in the Netherlands or Germany, it sometimes seems hard to do it right. The first thing that pops in one’s mind is to save water. Save water, shower together – sounds appealing. However, that can also go wrong. Water reduction plans in Germany led to blocked water systems as water did not properly flush the sewerage. The water systems were simply not laid out for smaller water usage. As a result, thousands of litres of water had to be pumped into the systems in order to clean them – so much for saving water. Apart from that, waste water treatment plants do their work and recycle water efficiently.
So what shall we, as students living in advanced Western European countries do if water is so precious? What is important is to recognise our general water footprint and the “virtual” water that is used in the process of producing our daily food. The water footprint is a measure for the amounts of water we need to produce goods and services. To produce a cup of coffee, for example, requires 140l of water. For 1kg of rice 3000l and for jeans 10,855l. By importing water intensive products, countries save water. This becomes problematic when the trade goes from water poor to water rich countries, like in the example of the strawberries. Therefore, we need to be aware of our consumption behaviours. Do I really need the strawberries end of autumn produced in Spain or are local apples not delicious as well? Do I really need the almonds from California or does not someone maybe have a walnut tree in their garden? Food for thought which does not even need any water to grow.
And regarding the shower? The environment can profit the most when the warm water use is reduced, because then energy is saved.
Rieke Sonnenberg
Head of GECCO – Universalis Sustainability Comittee
The Bell 